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FBI Next of Kin Requests

As part of the Civil Rights-Era Cold Case Initiative, the FBI is re-assessing more than 100 unsolved or inadequately solved racially motivated homicides from the civil rights era. The FBI intends to notify the victims' families of the results of the investigation. Unfortunately, however, due to the passage of time and the migration of many families, the FBI has been unable to identify the next of kin in 33 cases.

If you have any information concerning next of kin for this or another of the cases, please contact your local FBI office.

Case Details

1956
—Andalusia, Alabama

Two men went to Bessie McDowell's home in Andalusia, Alabama, in 1956 to collect a debt from an individual who resided with McDowell. When the individual fled, the men shot into the house and accidentally struck McDowell killing her.